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Schengen States issued 8.5 Million Schengen Visas in 2023

EU and Schengen-associated countries issued about 8.5 million Schengen visas last year. Nationals of Türkiye, India, and China dominantly got most of the uniform visas from around the world. Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Greece issued most of these visas (one-third of the total).

Schengen Visa Statistics 2023

According to the EU statistical data, the Schengen visa numbers have recovered from the post-pandemic situation—compared to it, three times more people applied for Schengen visas which count to an overall 10.3 million in 2023. From India, 43% more visa applications have been submitted which helped it retain the 3rd position compared to the previous year. Visa applications also increased from China where it got back its first position that it also had in 2019.

The countries that issued most Schengen visas

It was highly unexpected that Germany would stand out as the number one country in terms of most Schengen visas issued to non-EU nationals. It is the only member state that issued more than a million visa approvals. France, Italy, and Greece also issued a large number of uniform visas.

Schengen CountriesUniform visas applied forMultiple entry uniform visas (MEVs) issuedTotal LTVs issuedUniform visas not issued
Germany1,459,5601,115,42412,517208,155
France2,625,846791,4176,312436,893
Italy1,108,035680,7944,467133,495
Switzerland603,261349,86232,36564,397
Greece627,008344,6688,61091,379
Netherlands669,291326,0182,146114,269
Spain1,413,222297,21514,139251,470
Austria229,613147,0212,41832,922
Belgium225,95194,85440160,148
Portugal207,65492,41461333,220
Hungary215,79979,10519832,641
Poland124,05756,1031,29818,564
Czech Republic138,84039,35955224,218
Denmark107,87236,5769921,509
Sweden169,15131,7325,06938,680
Norway108,53620,5941,28217,457
Croatia38,51118,4543767,561
Lithuania30,66815,2273963,911
Finland92,07814,7024,03416,602
Latvia18,8979,1242952,208
Iceland22,5418,5496474
Malta33,3068,2234112,261
Slovenia19,9907,5294,1123,097
Slovakia13,4685,9432031,752
Luxembourg11,2275,3621401,354
Estonia13,1904,8656964,347
Total10,327,5724,601,134102,7851,632,984
Source: ec.europa.eu

Countries to which most visas were applied

Sams as a past exercise, most of the people applied for the Schengen visa for France. The country kept last year it records of being most of the time among the top five EU countries. Germany stood out surprisingly at 2nd position in the list and 1.45 million non-EU nationals applied for its visa. More than a million people also opted for Italy and the Netherlands.

Schengen StateUniform visas applied for
France2,625,846
Germany1,459,560
Spain1,413,222
Italy1,108,035
Netherlands669,291
Greece627,008
Switzerland603,261
Austria229,613
Belgium225,951
Hungary215,799
Portugal207,654
Sweden169,151
Czech Republic138,840
Poland124,057
Norway108,536
Denmark107,872
Finland92,078
Croatia38,511
Malta33,306
Lithuania30,668
Iceland22,541
Slovenia19,990
Latvia18,897
Slovakia13,468
Estonia13,190
Luxembourg11,227
Total10,327,572

Third countries that had high refusal numbers

The overall refusal rate remained at 16%. On the other hand, in some countries, the percentage increased for refusals such as Belarus (3.4%), Russia (10.6%), Türkiye (16.1%), and Iran (30.3%).

The overall refusal rate went down but for some countries’ nationals, it was again a nightmare. Countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Senegal along with many others had a visa success ratio of less than 25%. This is obvious as the EU has been having issues with these countries due to asylum seekers and repatriation issues.

These countries are also awarded less number of multiple-entry visas. The EU is already adopting tougher rules with the non-EU countries that do not cooperate on the issue of illegal migration and asylum seekers. A current example is Ethiopia which has been placed under these rules.

Nationals of third countries that got Schengen visas approved

Citizens of Türkiye were able to get most of the Schengen visas in 2023. Indian nationals remained at position two followed by Chinese nationals.

Member states issued about 4.6 million multiple-entry Schengen visas in 2023 (54.3% of the total number of visas issued). About 85,200 visas were issued at the external borders. The rest of the percentage is divided into LTVs and single-entry uniform visas.

Country where the consulate is locatedUniform visas applied forMultiple entry uniform visas (MEVs) issuedTotal LTVs issuedUniform visas not issued
CHINA1,117,365435,62344260,554
TÜRKIYE1,055,885612,84113,611169,514
INDIA966,687505,053352151,752
MOROCCO591,401233,018766136,367
RUSSIAN FEDERATION520,387220,92810,30854,293
ALGERIA474,03286,7872,215166,260
SAUDI ARABIA428,954357,50897325,672
UNITED KINGDOM405,631185,72067022,767
THAILAND270,504112,4687718,082
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES233,93290,6501,61252,485
INDONESIA207,97775,98716111,467
SOUTH AFRICA204,221134,339619,711
PHILIPPINES200,973125,5173811,762
EGYPT188,58173,98362246,931
KUWAIT179,444130,58532512,069
USA174,25882,1425,8246,651
BELARUS163,979138,018905,519
IRAN162,02641,7562,24648,343
TUNISIA159,74075,44629838,893
KAZAKHSTAN159,07257,35515914,285
KOSOVO120,57361,00641,27615,338
LEBANON117,40150,4852,16721,346
NIGERIA105,92625,06520742,940
QATAR103,77865,14349615,216
VIETNAM103,50125,19913112,510
ECUADOR93,41523,2856322,250
PAKISTAN86,69819,8111,70241,798
ARMENIA80,35630,19210410,531
AZERBAIJAN78,95529,894776,645
ANGOLA72,54926,260820,427
COTE D’IVOIRE71,41418,6516424,733
SENEGAL64,39212,6653726,497
JORDAN64,30330,33977811,234
IRAQ58,16517,55555920,189
KENYA56,18715,83545412,954
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC52,69912,5351013,268
CUBA47,7928,7723212,079
UZBEKISTAN46,50313,3143587,654
GHANA45,4219,5582221,226
CONGO (DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC)41,31716,8731,57210,488
BANGLADESH39,72910,9726117,015
CAMEROON39,0318,2982812,155
OMAN38,87630,077303,925
SINGAPORE35,64316,7831611,486
CANADA35,08715,7301001,854
IRELAND32,38016,07436474
ISRAEL28,2039,0068743,492
KYRGYZSTAN27,1636,725495,104
ETHIOPIA24,6653,8803598,168
SRI LANKA24,6545,5841429,320
LIBYA24,42810,7984635,676
MAURITANIA23,2536,752628,289
BAHRAIN22,70918,94621,914
CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE)21,7782,9181357,315
MONGOLIA20,8655,12704,338
BOLIVIA20,8022,33727,368
MALI20,7603,572549,637
MOZAMBIQUE20,3133,80551,723
SURINAME19,8917,620113,049
GABON19,3004,78344,942
CAPE VERDE18,3417,97624,380
MADAGASCAR16,6835,44255,424
UGANDA15,9363,483454,754
BENIN15,7582,883164,398
AUSTRALIA14,8556,76925415
GUINEA14,1551,76486,021
TANZANIA13,0302,975762,525
HONG KONG S.A.R.12,9085,5932370
SERBIA12,1744,70457862
CAMBODIA12,1182,95201,375
RWANDA11,6682,509573,147
BURKINA FASO11,6563,600113,105
JAPAN11,5903,43917637
EQUATORIAL GUINEA11,3681,7006533,190
CYPRUS10,8763,979561,343
SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE9,58265317340
TOGO8,8012,06802,839
NORTH MACEDONIA8,5601,1986,3961,104
CHAD8,3801,89612,095
NEPAL8,1653,32012,928
ZIMBABWE7,8562,7216851
MYANMAR7,0123,130121,169
HAITI6,72141002,780
GEORGIA6,3851,7301251,236
UKRAINE6,1311,47117796
ROMANIA6,0532,55622643
TURKMENISTAN6,0292,314378527
NIGER5,6891,343491,177
NAMIBIA5,5753,7094271
GUINEA-BISSAU5,49371612,634
BULGARIA5,4593,12632235
MALAYSIA5,3841,88191,026
JAMAICA5,0181,9070325
GREECE4,89467662,744
PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY4,7803,17554477
DJIBOUTI4,6611,01711,137
TAJIKISTAN4,6291,2481091,487
LAOS4,3272,0130496
SYRIA4,185587131,924
MONTENEGRO4,1421,79038311
SOUTH KOREA3,8185254451
BURUNDI3,77468501,391
COMOROS3,76837242,174
ERITREA3,3176388650
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA2,7311,886412110
ZAMBIA2,6597142360
COLOMBIA2,4915845618
SUDAN2,45243044997
NEW ZEALAND2,2771,004282
MEXICO2,2527534149
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC2,2113780527
CHILE1,93173810360
BRAZIL1,93158028354
BOTSWANA1,8846820120
DENMARK1,86763023
MOLDOVA1,676699765
ALBANIA1,365706264107
TAIWAN1,255531259
PANAMA1,1833282106
PERU1,0594003160
ARGENTINA1,0472635185
NETHERLANDS1,034476692
MAURITIUS729419048
AUSTRIA52148633
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO500171012
VENEZUELA361471777
GUATEMALA3519703
COSTA RICA31814332
MACAO S.A.R.30996027
SPAIN26811829
GERMANY2611731013
ANDORRA25532016
URUGUAY23626533
VANUATU231562
SWEDEN19692316
SAINT LUCIA16834017
FRANCE1646933
LUXEMBOURG1602421
ITALY159411012
SAN MARINO14614302
SLOVENIA135691055
LIBERIA1211700
PARAGUAY11540010
POLAND1125319
SLOVAKIA1057754
SWITZERLAND953155
TIMOR-LESTE802400
BELGIUM793335
CROATIA694188
LITHUANIA6649211
HONDURAS62406
NICARAGUA571705
EL SALVADOR563101
PORTUGAL311761
ICELAND29500
FINLAND28703
HUNGARY201402
MALTA19410
NORWAY12800
CZECH REPUBLIC10201
LATVIA3100
ESTONIA2100
Total10,327,5724,601,134102,7851,632,984
Source: EU Council